LONDON: Younger social media users are turning to influencers and celebrities instead of mainstream media and journalists as the main sources of news, a Reuters Institute report revealed.
The Digital News Report 2023, published Wednesday, showed that 55 percent of TikTok and Snapchat users and 52 percent of Instagram users, who often belong to younger generations, get their news from celebrities and social media influencers, while 33-42 percent turn to traditional news sources on the same platforms.
However, “journalists often lead conversations around news in Twitter and Facebook,” the report said.
Chinese-owned video platform TikTok is the “fastest growing social network,” and its popularity is chiefly increasing among young people, with 44 percent of those aged 18 to 24 years using it for all purposes and 20 percent for news.
Although Facebook continues to be the leading social media platform for news consumption, its impact has declined, with 28 percent of the study’s participants saying they relied on it for news, compared to 42 percent in 2016.
The survey was conducted in 46 major markets in Europe, North America, Latin America and Africa, covering a sample of 93,896 adults.
“Legacy media … now face a continual transformation of digital as generations come of age who eschew direct discovery for all but the most appealing brands, (and) have little interest in many conventional news offers oriented towards older generations’ habits, interests, and values,” said Reuters Institute Director Rasmus Kleis Nielsen in his foreword.
They instead “embrace the more personality-based, participatory, and personalized options offered by social media.”
Audiences on the platforms trending among younger groups also “cut back on depressing news and look to protect their mental health,” such as news about the Ukraine war and the rising cost of living, the report also found.
